I always thought of myself as a frugal person. I think there is a big difference in being frugal and being cheap. I am definitely frugal.
Here’s where I find the difference. If I find a pair of good quality shoes and it will cost me twice as much as an almost identical pair of shoes but of low quality, I still won’t mind paying the higher price knowing that I am not compromising quality for the price. I use that concept for everything that I buy.
My co-workers and I are attending one of our colleague’s wedding in March. We were thinking about what to give her and her husband for their wedding. One of our other colleagues overheard her on the phone once stating that she is registered at Kohl’s. We immediately took a peek at the Kohl’s website and found out that if you use a Kohl’s credit card ,you can save 30% off your full purchase. And at the same time, you can avail of Kohl’s cashback program if you purchase a certain amount. WE ended up buying over $500 worth of registered items for $200. We were so excited.
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do– this I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;
23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
After church this morning, I thought about the passage I always think about when I feel like I’ve let God down. I’m frail and weak in spirit and I always find myself not following His will.
I wrote about this passage back in May of 2008. I guess you can say that some things never change. I am still at a place where I know in my heart that I should be doing God’s will but I am too weak to carry it out.
Verse 18 says:
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
If it is so, then why should I even try to do good? If God’s grace is going to keep me from going to hell, why do I still feel guilty about the things that I do that is not of His will?
I have to rely on God’s grace because it simply means that Jesus died for my sins and that any sin that was committed, being committed and will be committed in the future have already been paid. He died for it.
I just wish that I could be as pure and perfect as God wants me to be because He is perfect.
This is where the passage from James 5:16 comes to play.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
So friends, let’s do just that. Let’s pray for one another.
I’ve been watching way too much TV lately but it’s because we just bought a new house and I’m absolutely obsessed with home improvement shows. This place needs a lot of work and instead of spending all my waking hours online looking at Pottery Barn stuff and spending money I don’t have I’ve thought it to be more productive to watch DUY shows and whatnot to learn how to do things like tiling my own backplash. I love that there are so many great shows on my www.ExpertSatellite.com channels that do just that but you know, at the end of the day I’m going to have to wait a while before I add anything to this place because I am broke as a joke. I had no idea there were so many small things on top of the cost of the house that I had to incur so right now I’m pretty much stretched to the max and can’t even get any mustard for my sandwiches much less spring for a new couch. I love being a homeowner.
Yes, I am Catholic and still consider myself one even though the current Pope and I don’t see eye-to-eye. In as much that I call myself Catholic, I am open to other religions as well. I listen and I take the good things that I can get and keep them to guide me through my journey.
As someone who loves to travel, I have been very lucky. I have been to much of Europe and Asia, and have also lived in several cities in North America.
I travel mostly on vacation but I did have an opportunity to travel for work. The best place for me has been Brazil and I have gone to Brazil every year since I visited in 2009. I was planning on going again this year but I may have to put off my plans because the airfare this year have gone through the roof.
So, in place of going international, I would like to explore more local spots. I have lived in New York City but I wasn’t much into the gay scene while I lived there. I wasn’t out yet. I have always wanted to visit the San Francisco, Castro Area and maybe that’s what I will do this year instead. Besides, the hassles of coming in from a foreign country back to the US has gotten old for me. I always get stopped by Immigration every time I come in (something to do with the random list) and I am tired of it.
I am coming to blog about this very late in the game because I wasn’t sure whether what I initially felt while watching the video (Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus) was the way that I should feel. Jefferson Bethke posted a Youtube video on 01/10/2012 and within a couple of days, the number of views reached millions. As of this writing, the video has garnered over 12 million views and it continues to climb.
When he opened the poem with “What if I told you that Jesus came to abolish religion”, I didn’t hear it. I somehow got caught in the poem after that. When he continued on, I felt the sincerity of what he was trying to say and the message I got in the end is that I am loved by Jesus regardless of what I have done, doing and will do in the future. That’s when I cried.
I have always known that but with Jefferson’s delivery and how he said “I WANT THAT MAN”, I literally saw visions of God pointing at me saying that He wants me.
But after I saw the video a gazillion times, I began to actually listen to the words. When I heard him say that Jesus came to abolish religion – - I had to think again. “Did he just say that?” Because in all my years of studying the bible, one very distinct phrase I remember Jesus saying is this:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. – Matthew 5:17
Although I agreed with Jefferson’s message, I sincerely hope that he is not misleading people who’ve seen the video and take his words as fact. Because if you look it up, Jesus DID NOT come to abolish the law.
I still believe that Jefferson’s message is one that has to be proclaimed. One special part that touched me was when he said that the Church is not a museum for good people, but a hospital for the broken. I agree with that wholeheartedly. It’s the most powerful part of his message. The church, being the bride of Christ should accept ALL people.
And when he said, “The Son of God did not support self-righteousness; not now, not then” – I almost stood up to applaud him because it is true. Self-righteousness is really not how Jesus taught us to deal with others. James 4:10 states, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
So, in total, I think Jefferson has the charisma and the power to preach. I do hope that he will rely on the bible for his facts before he spills it out as if they’re true. He is definitely gifted and he can deliver speeches and lectures well – - – he just has to be careful. He is a young and passionate kid and I must commend him for that. But it is easy to get caught up in things and I hope that his celebrity status doesn’t murky the waters that he’s trying to tread. (One interesting thing from his video is that a link to the watch company was provided below saying that it was the watch he was wearing on the video and if you’d like to purchase, to click the link. HUH? Sales?)
I was a little careless in 2011 about my finances. I usually plan my vacation very carefully so as not to go over budget and make sure that I keep my lights on… ha! But, somehow I went overboard last year.
I went to Brazil in May and then in November, I was coerced to go to a Mediterranean cruise by a friend of mine. No regrets here. I had a great time on both trips but you know what that meant right? I went over-budget.
We just installed a Home Security Family system in our home. Now, I feel much safer when I am home alone. My husband has recently started working the night shift. I feel like I hear everything that goes bump in the night. Any little creak or noise will startle me. For a while, I was tossing and turning. I was getting hardly any sleep. It made for a very stressful day at work. I would sleep with the lights and television on. After I got the alarm system, by suggestion of my mother in law, I started sleeping better. My father in law is a surgeon and worked a lot of nights. She said that she was in the same situation when they first got married. She said that she would toss and turn and was totally exhausted when she worked as a nurse during the day. I really got to the point where I couldn’t afford to loose anymore sleep. It was fraying me at both ends and I was having all sort of problems. I was getting sick and wasn’t able to focus. Now, I’m back and work and back on track. I wish I had gotten an alarm sooner.
It is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Christian calendar: The birth of Christ being celebrated on the 25th of December. I’m not going to get into a debate with other people telling me that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th and so on and so forth. I know that as a Christian, I celebrate the birth of my Savior and it doesn’t matter really what day is designated to celebrate it.
During the holiday Season of Advent, similar to the Season of Lent, Christians from around the world try to be at their best behavior. It’s a time to pay respect to our risen Savior. Jesus Christ came and died for us to set us free.
This year Christmas day was the first time I have ever celebrated Christmas alone. I spend the day at home, recovering from an operation performed on me a week prior. It gave me time to reflect and I was glad I had spent it alone.
I am a big fan of Oprah – in case you haven’t noticed. I think she’s made a difference in the world we live in today. Since her show ended, I found myself tuning to OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) when she launched her Oprah’s Life Class series.
I watched a portion about forgiveness on her Life Class series. It’s about clearing out obstacles in your life in order that you may be able to fulfill your full potential. I never realized how much holding a grudge can set you back in your journey to becoming a better person.
I have been in a rift with a few of my friends recently because of certain events that rattled the dynamics of our group. We are a group of about thirty friends living in the same area. When a group is that big, you know that you’re bound to have an argument or two with some of them.
